Uncool, Overlooked Montevideo

Most people couldn’t find Uruguay on a map. The country doesn’t have a Lonely Planet guidebook. There isn’t a single Hard Rock Cafe in any of its cities. No American university has opened up a satellite campus there. And for all of those reasons, Uruguay and its capital Montevideo are precious, rare and beautiful. I had an opportunity to spend a year living and writing in Montevideo, a city that marches to the beat of its own drummer and really can’t be compared to anywhere else in Latin America. This story for the Canadian magazine BCBusiness was an effort to sum up my feelings.

Sister Act: Travelling to Montevideo, Uruguay

Remy Scalza; Special to BCBusiness

A little sibling rivalry would seem inevitable in Montevideo. The diminutive Uruguayan capital lies just a hundred or so miles across the muddy shallows of the Rio de la Plata from big sister Buenos Aires. The family resemblance is unmistakable. Both cities tango. Both share the same predilection for big steaks and bold wines. Both feel more southern European than South American. But while Buenos Aires has long basked in the international limelight, Montevideo has quietly carried on in the shadows – the quiet, bespectacled sister who, in her own way, is irresistible.

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About Remy Scalza

Remy Scalza is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Vancouver, Canada. His stories and photos appear in The New York Times, Washington Post, Canadian Geographic and other outlets. Read More…